How Carl Crowe helped Sunil Narine bounce back to the top

Bowling coach Carl Crowe is confident Sunil Narine's remodeled action will stand up to scrutiny ahead of the spinner's return to international cricket in the Tri-Nations one-day series opener versus South Africa in Guyana on Friday (June 3).

Since the International Cricket Council started their crackdown on bowlers with suspect actions in 2014, Narine has had a tough time having being suspended three times after being first called during the now disbanded Champions League T20 in September 2014.

His successful return to competitive cricket in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) had a large part to do with the assistance of Crowe.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Crowe elaborated how he first met Narine and the steps he took to get the once number one ranked T20 and one-day international bowler back to his current level.

"After Sunil was reported last year, I got a call from his agent Eddie Tolchard from Insignia Sports about working with him," Crowe said. "I must say one of the things that impressed me about Eddie compared to other agents, was that there was a genuine interest to find the best expertise in dealing with this issue for Sunil, in order to get his action back to a consistent level.

"So in early January, I flew to Trinidad & Tobago for two weeks to work with him and this contact was maintained all the way to India, where I was by his side two days before his testing in Chennai."

Kolkata Knight Riders eventually contracted Crowe to spend time with Narine and then stay throughout the IPL to continue working with him and Narine's agent noted how invaluable this was.

"You can't just pass a test and be left alone" said Tolchard. "Carl's mental and technical support was exceptional. It's the little things people don't notice but Carl does, and that makes all the difference."

Crowe played for Leicester from 1995-2002, as an off-spinner. Post playing, he has worked as an assistant coach for the England women's cricket team and various age groups as a bowling coach, with notable emphasis on spin bowling. He noted the biggest aim for himself and Narine was not just to get his action sorted, but to prove to the world that bowlers who were called can come back strong.

"One of the key things we worked on was him using his entire body to maximize his action. But we didn't just want to make him legal, but had a bigger aim of proving to the world, that bowlers that get called can come back strong", stated Crowe

"The IPL was key benchmark. The feedback we got from Kolkotta Knight Riders (KKR), their bowling coach Wasim Akram, match referees, opposition players and commentators was very good. Given the short space of time to do this remodeling & testing, to go back into the high pressure situation which IPL is and perform somewhere close to his best was excellent.

"Overall, I'm confident and I know he is as well with the work he has done with his action. He really wants to play for the West Indies and do well in Test cricket. He knows there is always room for improvement given the new dispensation ICC has given to umpires to call bowlers and I'm confident he will continue to maintain those standards going forward in international cricket," he added.

Narine's agent praised Crowe for his work and highlighted his skills in world cricket as unique - due the lack of similar coaches with such expertise to help bowlers who get called with for suspect actions.

"Being recommended Carl by Peter Such was a bit of a godsend really. We needed to do things differently this year and ensure this is the last time Sunil has to go through such exhaustive measures to come back", explained Tolchard

"So, I needed to find someone best qualified who could assess where things were at and guide Sunil, mentally as well as physically. Yes the ICC and cricket in general has clamped down on bowlers with suspect actions, but what I have found over the past 2 years is that not only is there a dearth of expertise in identifying the root cause of the problems bowlers face and assistance to remedy them successfully, but also a massive lack of education and support to coaches who are being expected to work with players.

"Carl fills both those roles. From a technical perspective, you are going to be hard pressed to find anyone better qualified than Carl to assist guys like Sunil," he concluded.